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Poster Abstract
A Guide to Working Smarter: Introducing the Internet to Florida's Health Professionals
Linda C. Butson, Associate Director for Outreach Services, University of Florida Health Sciences Center; Deborah Hynes, AHEC Librarian, University of South Florida AHEC Program, Tampa, FL.; Sharon. Schmidt, Librarian, Nova Southeastern AHEC Program, Central Florida AHEC, Apopka, FL; Nancy Schaefer, Reference Librarian, Health Science Center Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
Purpose: This poster will report on the production of a manual: The Internet: A Guide to Working Smarter which is being distributed to county public health departments and community medical health centers in the state of Florida.
Setting/Participants/Resources: Safety-net provider organizations throughout Florida lack training in the effective use of the Internet for their clinical activities and education. The authors of this poster, three AHEC librarians and a university reference librarian, produced The Internet: A Guide to Working Smarter this past year to fill that void.
Brief Description: The manual's purpose is to provide health professionals, who lack time and access to training, a resource for understanding how and where to use the Internet to answer clinical questions, support their decision-making, and assist in patient/consumer education. This 41-page manual provides:
- basic information about personal computer systems, how they work, how they are used, and purchasing recommendations;
- instruction on methods of access, use of web browsers and search engines, Internet service providers, menu and toolbar elements, and bookmarks;
- information and instructive exercises in the efficient use of various search tools including subject directories, search engines, and power searching techniques such as Boolean logic, nesting and truncation for more effective computer searches; and criteria for evaluating World Wide Web sites;
- an introduction to e-mail and listservs and basic instruction on e-mail etiquette;
- an annotated directory to selected World Wide Web sites on 30 health-related categories focused on primary care and public health; and
- recommendations for additional resources including prominent databases, electronic textbooks, print selection lists and online computer glossaries.
Results/Outcome: Distribution of the manual began in September 2001 through the FLORIDA AHEC Network's local AHEC Centers to county public health departments and community medical health centers. The manual is also being used in training health professionals serving in rural and under-served communities. It can also be utilized as a self-study guide for individuals. A 2nd edition is due Summer 2002 and plans are being made for an online edition.
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Last modified: Tuesday, 15 October 2002
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